Editorial by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Nov 18, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 45.

Editorial

By Editor

True Thanksgiving.

Says the psalmist by the Spirit of God, "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever." God is good, with the goodness of pure love. His goodness is not negative, but positive. He is all good, and good all the time; for "God is love."

The Giver of Good.

God is not only good, but he is the Good. He is the only one essentially good; for "there is none good but One, that is, God." Matt. 19:17. He is therefore the Source, the Author, of all good. From him all good gifts come. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17. God is therefore not only the Giver of all good gifts, but all his gifts are good.

Unchangeable Good.

We meet with persons who do us good to-day and ill to-morrow. If perchance they would do us good on the morrow, they may be unable, because of a limitation of their powers. Then, again, circumstances or dispositions may change; but God never changes—"with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning." R. V. Men may fail, "yet he abideth faithful; he can not deny himself." 2 Tim. 2:13. Love can never be otherwise than love; Essential Good ever remains good. Surely God's constant goodness should be a cause of thanksgiving on the part of his children.

Our Blindness.

"But," says some poor soul, "what about the troubles which come upon us in the way of loss of health and property, and opportunity of labor, and the life of our loved ones? Is this evidence of God's goodness?" And we reply, No, not any of these things of themselves alone. If our life ended and began with the trouble, if there were no other manifestation of God to us, surely we would be of all men most miserable. God does not directly send the sickness, the financial trouble, the loss of work and wages, the death of loved ones: but God does permit them to come; and in them he brings disguised blessings; out of them he will by his own power bring good. In spite of the originator of the evil, God brings to us his goodness. It is only our blindness, our selfish sorrow, our unbelief, which hides from our eyes and shuts out of our hearts his blessed and mighty presence.

"Worketh All Things."

Despite the sin, God "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable." "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places." "He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." "For that he is strong in power, not one faileth." (Eph. 1:11; Ps. 145:3; 135:6; 147:4; Isa. 40:26.) And of this same God his messenger declares: "And we know that to them that love God, God worketh all things with them for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose." Rom. 8:28, margin, R. V.

God's Purpose.

But God works according to his own purpose, according to his own good and righteous law, according to his own glorious Gospel of grace, and for the purpose of the "eternal salvation" of all and each who desire to be eternally saved in God's own way; for there is no other way by which men can be saved, save God's way. He, therefore, who refuses to be saved in God's way, wills not to be saved at all. He takes himself out of the channel of God's working. He places himself where he can neither see nor receive of God's goodness in the way God designed his goodness should be received.

Illustrations of His Goodness.

God gives us in nature many illustrations of his working and goodness. Among these is that of the year, with its varied seasons of winter, spring, autumn, summer. Winter seems to be the death of the year. The leafless trees, the dry, seemingly dead branches, the bleak moor lands, the withered stalks of plant and flower, the rivers, lakes, and ground locked in the icy embrace of the frost king, all speak eloquently of death. And this is especially so when nature covers all with a pure white shroud of unsullied snow. But the world is not buried, only wrapped in its winding-sheet, resting, waiting, for the morning of spring, the resurrection of the year,

when the power of God in the warm winds, the life-giving showers, and the ever-ascending sun, loosens the icy fetters, sets the prisoners free, clothes the leafless branches with foliage and the barren fields with grass and flowers. The robe of death is folded away, and a garment of green bedecked with flowers robes the world. Spring is the sowing time of the year. He who would have abundant harvest must in spring sow bountifully.

The Summer

is the time of development of the growing plant and fruit and root. The oftentimes fierce storm, the daily fiercer heat, are both necessary. The roots strike deeper into the soil for moisture, and the fiber hardens and strengthens. Great fields bloom green and red with clover, or gold and green with butter-cups. Orchards are weighted with fruit. Acres of waving grain hang heavy-headed, storing, by the direction of God, from earth and air provender for the multitude.

And Then Comes Autumn,

the harvest-time of the year, when the multi-hued ripened fruitage is gathered in from forest and field, from orchard and vineyard, from shock and sheaf, for the sustenance of earth's millions. It is God's gift to the inhabitants of earth. He gives the sons and daughters of earth a part in its sowing, its culture, its harvest, that they may share in the rejoicing, and gather at every season faith in him, the great Husbandman.

Man's Selfishness.

How sad it is that men use these blessings of God for their own selfish purpose, with never a thought of the needs of their fellows! And this is most frequently the case on the part of the rich. The necessities of men, the foodstuffs of the earth, are stored, garnered, bonded, shut away, from the hungry, famishing multitudes; or prices are made so high to the buyer that thousands are kept in constant want, and so low to the seller that many are utterly ruined. The greed of grain grinds the 'brethren of a common Father down.' Millions of bushels of good food cereals go to feed the cursed stream of poison which runs from still and brewer's vat to wreck the reason and beggar the homes of millions more. But God sees and hears and knows, and he will repay.

The Lesson of the Year

is that God is working out good for the inhabitants of earth all through the round of seasons, in winter not less than summer, in spring not less than autumn. And while many will at this season of the year render formal thanks because a day has been set apart by civil officials for that purpose, and while many more will be truly thankful at this season, as God's gifts of the year are brought to their notice, the true child of God will be thankful at all times. While God crowns the year with his goodness, yet it is his goodness which wears the crown. He is an unchangeable God; and we should thank him in winter as well as in autumn.

How Shall We Thank Him?

Not simply in words. If in words alone we render thanks to God, our thanksgiving is the veriest mockery. We do not render thanks by gluttonous indulgence in roast turkey, cranberry pie, plum pudding, or pumpkin pie. That is but a low form of selfishness. He only is truly thankful who renders to God that which is his due. The truly thankful heart will say with the psalmist, 'What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?' and with his whole heart will he heed the exhortation, 'Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the people.' The truly thankful will make known God's deeds by permitting the Lord to do them anew through him. He will deal his bread to the hungry, bring the poor that is cast out to his house, cover the naked, and seek out the poor and needy. Isa. 58:7. He will see the purchase of Christ's blood in suffering humanity, and he will render to God his gladness, his praise, his thanksgiving, by relieving their wants and woes. This is thanksgiving; and he who truly keeps God's thanksgiving will do it every day, in all places, and at all seasons. 'O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.'